The Coney Island Ruse
by keelylionheart
Summary: Doctor Who 2500 word one-shot. One-shot requested by Tumblr user legendofjessica. Required: elation, amusement park, basket. This one-shot takes place in between the season five finale and the beginning of season six. Amy and Rory are recently married and the Doctor takes them on their honeymoon. They unsuspectingly land in 1915 New York where something is secretly wrong...


The Doctor's TARDIS was flying the Doctor and the Ponds one more time throughout time and space. It was the Pond's honeymoon and the Doctor was desperate to see the planet Barcelona. He had launched the TARDIS into the vortex and his baby started to bump around. Rory and Amy were flung side to side as they smiled at the Doctor.

"Where to next?" Amy asked.

"Barcelona!" The Doctor threw down a lever and the TARDIS began to spin as they reached their destination.

Amy grabbed Rory's hand and ran off into the TARDIS' maze of rooms. The TARDIS landed and the Doctor ripped off his hat. He untied his bowtie and removed his shoes as he walked towards his magnificent closet.

The group changed into their natural attire and walked to the TARDIS door.

"Ready?" asked The Doctor, widening his face to a glistening grin.

"Doctor, are you sure…" Rory began but was immediately wisked away by Amy outside the TARDIS door.

Expecting the TARDIS to land in its desired place was miraculous sometimes and the Doctor had hoped to finally make it to Barcelona. He had promised his companions multiple times that Barcelona would be one of their destinations. Amy stepped out of the TARDIS first, dragging Rory with her but Rory almost tripped because Amy had stopped because she was confused.

"This isn't Barcelona," said the Doctor.

"Where are we then?" Rory asked as he circled around, looking at the clear blue sky.

"Earth," began the Doctor in an annoyed tone. Once more the plan for Barcelona had been betrayed by his machine. "Mmmm, 1915. Somewhere near New York City, I believe. Make that Brooklyn." The Doctor stepped closer to his companions and looked off into the distance. "Ah, that must be Coney Island."

"Why do you look disappointed?" Amy asked.

"For once, I was hoping that it was Barcelona," replied the Doctor. He shoved his hands into his trouser pockets and walked on towards Coney Island. For a long time Coney Island had been one of the Doctor's dreams.

Amy and Rory followed him to the large crowds that were filtering to that amusement park. The Doctor flashed his psychic paper at the male guard. The guard nodded and permitted the three to make their way into the amusement park. The Doctor chuckled to himself as he walked along the dusty path towards very worn rides and children screaming at their parents for food.

"Ah, Coney Island, the playground of New York's busiest borough. A hundred years ago this very land was just an investment for the wealthiest men in New York. Now men and women and their children find their weekends here. Some things never change." The Doctor pointed his attention towards the parent dragging their child away from a sugary snack. "What shall we do first? See the Hall of Mirrors, seek a prize down the boardwalk? It is my treat and your honeymoon."

Rory focused his attention towards the large amounts of snacks that the Coney Island vendors were selling. Leadworth was so far distant from any sort of place like Coney Island that Amy and Rory had a harder time adjusting to this part of history than the grandest adventure that they would have on any given planet.

"Food, Doctor?" Amy asked, tugging on Rory's arm.

"Of course!" The Doctor shouted. He dug far into his coat pocket and pulled out some crumpled American money left over from one of his trips to America. The Ponds and the Doctor ate some of the unhealthiest snacks available at Coney Island. They laughed as the Doctor made up stories about people passing by. Amy held Rory's hand as they finished the large amount of food the Doctor had bought.

After finishing the sugary meal, a shout came from down the street, closer to the beach.

"Come one, come all! Are you prepared to see a sword swallower? A fire eater? The bearded lady? The shortest man on earth? Come on down to Mr. Pennywhistle's Wonder Show!"

The Doctor caught the man's attention and immediately raced off to see what this show contained. He loved acrobats and circuses, so surely this show would satisfy his inner child. Amy once more looked at her husband and Rory shrugged his shoulders. He knew that they would have to follow him because the Doctor would suddenly become a lost dog if they didn't follow him around.

A mad crowd rushed beside the Ponds as they all gathered towards the beach to see Mr. Pennywhistle's Wonder Show. Most of crowd filed in to this large tent where the show was about to take place. The crowd shuffled into the benches and sat down, waiting for the performance to begin. The performers raced into the tent and began to run around as the crowd cheered. A big band began to play and the man who announced the show circled around the tent, waving to the crowd. He made his way to the middle and the performers stood still, looking out towards their audience.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, children of all ages, WELCOME to Mr. Pennywhistle's Wonder Show!"

The crowd went wild with excitement. The Doctor was at the back of the crowd and looked intently at the man he presumed to be Mr. Pennywhistle. Mr. Pennywhistle was very familiar from the Doctor's travels. Amy looked over at the Doctor and wondered why he was not excited for this man's show. Mr. Pennywhistle appeared to be talented in his work and it looked to be an enjoyable show. She said nothing but gripped her husband's hand tighter.

Mr. Pennywhistle's show went on to reveal marvelous creatures and all sorts of wonders that were absolutely strange. Amy and Rory thoroughly enjoyed the show, laughing for most of it. The Doctor, however, stared intently for the entirety of the show. If anyone looked closer, they could see an obvious glimmer on the man but no one had been looking that closely.

The final performance rampaged across the tent and the crowd stood up to cheer. Mr. Pennywhistle and his performers bowed before leaving the audience. Amy and Rory looked over to the Doctor who remained seated after the performance had left the stage and the audience was shuffling out of the tent.

"Doctor, what is it?"

"Nothing."

Amy and Rory did not buy his response but it was supposed to be their honeymoon. Ignoring his brooding mood, the Doctor stood up and put on a smile.

"What to do next? Play your luck on the boardwalk, stroll down the beach, or something else?"

"This amusement park- it has games right?" Amy asked.

The Doctor nodded and the Ponds looked at each other.

"Well, let's go then!" she continued. "Doctor, have some fun with us."

"Yes, we should have some fun," The Doctor agreed.

They left Mr. Pennywhistle's tent and walked down the dusty lane to the boardwalk. Amy and Rory tested their limited skills on some of the games that vendors had on the Coney Island boardwalk. The Doctor sunk his American currency on most of the games that Amy and Rory decided to play. Meanwhile the Doctor was thinking on what to do with Amy and Rory while resolving this issue with Mr. Pennywhistle.

Hours passed by and the Ponds were exhausted from playing the vendor games. They were following the Doctor down the pathway when something caught the Doctor's attention. A vendor was selling picnic blankets and baskets for couples to have while they made their way down the beach. The Doctor quickly rushed to the vendor and bought a blanket and basket for Amy and Rory. He walked on further and bought fresh food from another vendor.

Without a word, Amy and Rory followed him on down the boardwalk with the basket and blanket. They were curious what the Doctor was formulating in his mind as he hobbled along pointing at food and swaying the new picnic basket back and forth.

The Doctor led the Ponds on down the beach and set the basket with its contents down. He drew out the blanket and stood up to smile at his companions.

"Come! Sit!" He shouted to the Ponds who were staring at a distance.

The Ponds didn't say a word. They sat down on the blanket and looked up at the Doctor.

"Now, enjoy, and I will be back later. This is your honeymoon, after all."

"Doctor, are you sure?" Rory asked.

"No, no, enjoy," The Doctor pleaded. "We have come so far in our journey that you two deserve some time alone."

"When do we meet you?" Amy asked. "You are not leaving us behind, Doctor."

"I was not planning to leave the both of you behind. I need the both of you, after all. Meet me at the TARDIS in two hours and then we will leave Coney Island for good."

"Do not get into any trouble, Doctor!" shouted Rory as the Doctor turned around to leave. He raised one of his hands as he walked away. "I don't trust him. He looks as if he is up to something."

Amy shrugged her shoulders and pulled out an apple from the basket. She bit into the apple and smiled at her husband. The two smiled at each other and shared the elation they both felt at being on the beach at Coney Island in 1915. Rory told this funny story about a family vacation to the beach as Amy relaxed into the plaid blanket.

"And then mum began to splash the water in my face and I learned how to giggle with water rushing up my nostrils."

"Invigorating." Amy opened the basket and pulled out some grapes. "I don't think I've heard a story like that before." The Ponds chuckled.

"Can I be honest with you?" Rory asked.

"What is it Rory?"

"I think the Doctor is up to something as usual. He had that look."

"What look?"

"You know, the look of eternal curiosity. He knew something that we didn't catch on."

"Don't bother. Whatever he is up to, I am sure that he is safe."

Rory chuckled to himself and looked back out to the water.

Meanwhile, the Doctor was trudging back to Mr. Pennywhistle's tent. He skulked behind one of the carts that the performers were using. He looked around and poked at some of the carts and cars that Mr. Pennywhistle had gathered on the tent side of Coney Island. He noticed something peculiar about some of the items that he had. It didn't make sense having knight's armor and guns in a collection of items relating to simple amusements that attracted simple people.

The Doctor hadn't approached the danger but he narrowly avoided being seen at least twice by one of the odd performers in Mr. Pennywhistle's crew. He stood still for a while, allowing the performers to pass by without notice. But the Doctor became more curious about these strange items that had no relation to the performance that just took place. He found spears and shoes that were not from 1915 or that century at all. He peered in but didn't hear the trudging noise from behind him.

"Well, well, well, Doctor. It is finally good to meet you."

The Doctor turned around to see Mr. Pennywhistle right behind him. He looked further into Mr. Pennywhistle's eyes and noticed a green glow. He seemed to be limping a little for no apparent reason. Instead of asking, the Doctor read into Mr. Pennywhistle's appearance.

"Graske," The Doctor said without another word from either of them.

"Aren't you perceptive? Oh what shall I do?" Mr. Pennywhistle was mocking The Doctor as he walked closer. "I was so close too."

"What are you up to?"

"Oh, you know, the usual. Stealing people. It's a very fun game. These humans are so inept, it's almost painful."

"Don't you dare touch them!"

"You just watch me Doctor."

Mr. Pennywhistle walked away without another word from the Doctor. He stopped and reformulated what he was going to do next. He had to stop the Graske from risking harm to these innocent humans. The Doctor followed Mr. Pennywhistle and did the one thing he did best, stopped him with sudden extraterrestrial force.

The Doctor approached Mr. Pennywhistle.

"How many lives have you taken?!" The Doctor shouted. He was quite angry with random humans being abducted for an alien's species use.

"Plenty and I will continue to take them until the end of time." Mr. Pennywhistle laughed. "You cannot stop me no matter how hard you try. You cannot take a life, Doctor."

"There are other people who can."

Of course, whenever the Doctor needed them, Vastra the Silurian and Jenny appeared. They had the power to take away Mr. Pennywhistle. They could convict him against the crimes he entacted against humanity.

"Good afternoon, Doctor," Vastra said upon appearing at a distance.

"Good afternoon, Vastra, Jenny. It is pleasure, like always."

"We will take care of this," Jenny said.

Vastra whipped her hand and handcuffs appeared around Mr. Pennywhistle's criminal limbs.

"You will see me again, Doctor," grunted Mr. Pennywhistle. "Silence, Doctor. Silence will consume you for what you have done."

The Doctor ignored the Graske's statements as Vastra and Jenny dragged him away. They briefly waved before disappearing into the vortex from which they came. He always warned those close to him about jumping through time and space with those wristwatches like Captain Jack's. Jumpers would tear the entirety of time and space apart. Instead of trying to follow them and arguing about the portable jumpers, the Doctor walked on to the TARDIS.

Amy and Rory were packing up the picnic basket as the sun began to set on the Atlantic Ocean.

"I hope the Doctor is ok," Amy said, continuing their conversation on where they were going next. The Doctor was especially eager to roam now that Amy and Rory were finally together.

"He will be fine. He is always…fine."

"You're right, Rory. If he's gotten into trouble, I will drag him by the ear once we get into the TARDIS! He promised us that he would be safe."

"Well, we shall see," stated Rory. Amy folded up the blanket and placed it on top of the leftover items from the Doctor's shopping spree. Rory tucked the picnic basket into his elbow as the Ponds stood up. Amy grabbed Rory's hand and kissed his cheek. They giggled and walked down the beach together towards the amusement park.

The Doctor arrived at the TARDIS first and relaxed his back against the front door. He drummed his left hand against his chest while he waited for the Ponds to arrive. He saw them coming from a distance and smiled.

Rory and Amy began to walk faster once they saw the Doctor waiting for them. They were suddenly out of the amusement park and back at the TARDIS.

"Are you ready Ponds?"

"As always, Doctor."

The Doctor opened the door to the TARDIS and they were off to their next adventure.


End file.
